How to explore Unova
by Phantomdream
Summary: When he was small he wouldn't have expected his life to have taken such a turn, ever. Now though he's got things to do and an organisation to take care of, no time to play. At least that's what he thought. For some reason now though this green haired teen won't leave him alone. Why do those with green hair seem to come to him? And why does he keeps meeting all kinds of new people!
1. Vigilant

Flight 1: Vigilant

"INTRUDER!"

A single figure made his way through the hallway as several men in uniforms pursued him. Every few seconds the person discreetly looked behind him to check the difference in distant between him and the men. He upped his pace as he reached the end of the hallway.

It split into two different paths.

According to the information he'd gathered earlier the left path led to the pilot room and the right towards the cargo room. Without another moment he abruptly turned to the right as he made a split second decision on where to go. The most likely place he'd find his objective was somewhere with lots of space, which meant the pilot room wasn't suited. He glanced back and noticed the distance between him and the men was increasing.

A few minutes earlier he'd been careless and was spotted by one of the guards. If he'd actually been a little more careful he could have prevented all of this but of course it was just his luck that he had to pass by the lab. After all who wouldn't be interested in the newest possible tech? Well him apparently and it had distracted him long enough to get seen. It was doubtful they'd be able to stop him though, the other objectives had already been fulfilled and the last stage of his plan was being executed at that very moment.

He noticed the end of the hallway was approaching quickly as a door locked by password came into view. His eyes narrowed as he tried to get a better view of the mechanism, it worked by entering a seven digit code but he could see that there was also some kind of sleuth where he could insert a card. Relieved he pulled out a card he'd swiped from one of the guards. Within another few seconds he was at the door, with practiced ease he swiped the card and entered through the door making sure to close it. Looking around for anything that might help he quickly found a chair sitting innocently next to the door. Without another thought he jammed it under the door knob hoping it would prevent them from getting in for a while. Even if it would only hamper the guards for a few moments, those few moments were going to be important.

Turning his attention back to his surroundings he noted that the information he'd gathered had been correct. He'd managed to find his way to the cargo room. Quickly he noticed that there weren't any other people or camera's around and took off the mask he'd been wearing and hooked it to his belt. The cargo room was entirely made out of metal. It was filled with electronics, mechanical vehicles and weapons. He was standing much higher than everything else and could overlook almost all of the cargo room. Keyword almost.

He heard a growl and saw a flash of light appear from the corner of his eyes. The unexpected sight made a small smile slide onto his face and he made his way down the metal stairs. He quickly ran forward to where he had seen the flash and as expected a giant cage came into sight just behind a big vehicle. It was positioned to the left of the room just out of sight. Because of the shaking and turbulence they had made sure to fix it to the ground to prevent movement. But it wasn't the cage that had his attention, it was the magnificent beast that was chained up inside of it. It was giving off sparks and light even as the cage itself managed to suppress most of the attempts for more. Despite having expected to come across this he couldn't keep his surprise.

"Wow." He mumbled quietly. But apparently as quiet as he'd hoped as the beast immediately turned to face him and growled menacingly. He didn't react as much to the growling and threat as he had to seeing the beast in the first place. He made his way forward and slowly walked down the metal stairs. The growling only got louder and worse in response but he didn't take any notice of it and only continued to make his way through the room. Absently he heard the men from earlier trying to barge through the door but he knew it would hold for a little while longer. As he made his way around the cage he noticed what he was looking for just behind it. Inconveniently it was close to the cage and the beast didn't seem to be inclined to let him be that close. Sighing he moved as close as he could to both his objective and the beast. Might as well try it the other way then.

"Can you hear me?" He asked in his usual voice, he didn't raise it in any way, trying to be heard over the beasts loud growling. It seemed to do the trick though as the beast quieted slightly to hear. "Can you hear me?" He repeated in the same tone. The beast was still growling but it seemed to be quite a bit quieter, it also had this curious gleam in its eyes. Probably hasn't had much positive interaction lately he mused quietly. "Thank you for growling a little bit quieter. I would like to help you but I cannot reach the control box next to the cage because you're sparking and trying to zap me quite a bit. Mind toning down the electricity?" The voice had a slight sarcastic edge to it but it didn't hold any malice whatsoever. The beast seemed to notice it and it's growling stopped almost entirely, the sparking and light show also lessened considerably. There was an obvious amount of confusion in its eyes now as it looked at the figure in front of it. It couldn't quite seem to figure out something and kept staring. After a few more seconds he finally couldn't stand it any longer and walked towards the control box. On it should be the controls that would let him control most of the cargo room.

It took him a moment to figure out which button did what. Quickly he pressed three different buttons rapidly in success after one another. It couldn't have been a moment sooner as the men from earlier finally burst through the door and stumbled into the room. The ones at the front took a moment to grasp the situation before they started pointing at him. Quickly he reached for his mask and fastened it back onto his face, even if they saw it he could prevent a few others from doing so too. "Quickly get him! Make sure Raikou doesn't escape!" One of the men at the front yelled. But it seemed to be for naught as the cage had opened at the exact same time they'd entered the room. The beast, Raikou, had noticed immediately and made full use of it. He jumped agilely out of the cage and positioned itself in the middle of the room ready to battle. He himself wasn't too far away from the beast but it didn't seem to be paying any more attention to him. It only took a few more seconds before his second command on the control commenced. The men each grabbed onto something as one of the walls of the cargo room opened up. A great amount of Wind and a strong suction force made its way into the room pulling many objects outside. Looking through the opening they were revealed to be in some kind of plane as the ground could be seen miles away below them.

He held onto the cage which was fastened to the ground preventing him from being taken by surprise. Raikou glanced at him for a moment and he met its eyes. They held each other's stares for a few more seconds before he motioned towards the opened hatch. It seemed to understand his notion and without another moment to spare ran towards the door and jumped. It seemed to know what it was doing as it landed safely onto the ground after few moments despite the amazing height they'd been at. It glanced up at the vehicle once more with a nod before disappearing deep into the forest.

Finally the third button started to work as the hatch slowly started to close. Now it was his turn to make his move. Turning back to where the other men were holding onto their lives he held one hand to his mouth. "Next time you have an intruder, do try to actually stop him from escaping!" He yelled sarcastically, adding a cheeky wink to remark he let go of the cage and ran toward the hatch. Jumping down the plane he could see it close just as he made his way out.

The plane slowly became smaller as he continued to fall down. He enjoyed the free fall and the feeling of the wind in his hair. For a moment he closed his eyes. It wasn't long though before he heard a familiar sound, the sound he'd been waiting for. Only seconds after he was caught mid fall and was once more flying. This time though it wasn't in a vehicle.

"Thanks Toothless!" The dragon like creature huffed for a bit in irritation as they turned to fly further away from the plane. The boy, Hiccup, adjusted his hold on the dragon before they both sped up noticeably. It didn't take more than half a minute before they lost sight of the airplane and their pace was once more slowed. It was only when they were finally gone that they were slowly gliding through the air that the dragon actually expressed his feelings and hit the boy on his head with his earflaps.

"OW! What'd you do that for?!" He exclaimed rubbing the spot he was hit. Toothless, as was the name of the dragon, gave him a long incredulous look before glaring at his friend. This time it was Hiccup who huffed before they both fell into an uncomfortable silence. It didn't take long though before the teen couldn't take it any longer. "Okay! Fine, I'm sorry for going in alone without the protection of the Almighty Toothless!" Despite having added heavy sarcasm to that last bit the dragon didn't seem to care. He accepted the answer with a decisive nod. Hiccup sighed in relief and the both of them relaxed slightly.

After a while a small growl pulled his attention back to his friend. The dragon shot him a look and growled something. Hiccup nodded in understanding and leaned forward comfortably onto the dragon. "Yeah Raikou ran back into the forest so our main objective was completed, I gathered quite a bit of intel on their future plans so that's a success but I was seen before I had too much time to inspect their new gadgets so I don't have much information on that part." The dragon listened patiently before nodding.

After flying for another hour they reached a very big and very beautiful lake that was hidden among the mountain. The lake was amazingly clear and seemed to shine in the sun. The shallow water was entirely see through, it was only because of the deeper parts of the lake that reached unthinkable depths that you couldn't see the bottom. It was said that this was once the resting place of Kyogre. Not many people believe it anymore though, there was no water path connecting the lake to the oceans. How would Kyogre have left?

Toothless continued to fly over the lake before they finally reached the other side. It was then that he finally touched the ground and landed. It took Hiccup a moment to get of the dragon before he sagged onto the floor and the grass. Toothless nudged him on his side forcing him to stand up once more.

"Fine!" Hiccup yelled as he finally had enough of all the nudging and stood up. Toothless sent him another look before turning to walk toward the forest. Hiccup rolled his eyes before following. He knew Toothless was right though, he shouldn't sleep there. First of all because the place was entirely visible from everywhere, second because it was unhealthy to just sleep like that in the damp grass and thirdly because he hadn't yet eaten. Mumbling about annoying dragons and their overprotective tendencies he followed his partner into the woods to where they had set up camp fire earlier that day.

Toothless laid down next to the campfire they had made last time, though it had been put out. It only took Toothless a moment though to start it up again. While the dragon got the fire going Hiccup walked to the tree opposite from him and the campfire and stood in front of it. With a few agile movements he'd learned from experience he made his way up the tree. When he finally reached three-fourths of the tree he reached for camouflaged package he'd left there last time. It was tightly wrapped in plastic and leather. He threw it down the tree before following and climbing back down. Toothless eagerly awaited as Hiccup tried to open it.

After a few unsuccessful tried Toothless finally lost his patience and just ripped the cover of the package. Hiccup was annoyed at first but in the end shrugged it off as he took out the food.

That was in it. He passed most of the fish towards the dragon and kept one for himself. It didn't take long though before all the fish had disappeared, this time though into the stomach of dragon. It took Hiccup longer to finish his dinner as he roasted it first on the campfire. It was only after they had dinner that Toothless finally allowed Hiccup to get some well needed sleep. He moved next to the dragon where it was nice and warm before finally falling into a deep slumber.

Toothless watched as the little human crawled up against him before finally also closing his eyes for a long needed rest. His friend really needed to stop worrying him so much or else there wouldn't be much left of his lifespan.


	2. The little songstress

Flight 2: The little songstress

Hiccup groaned slightly as he felt something poke against his side. He was really tired and didn't feel like getting up yet, so he did what anyone would do and turned away from whoever was poking him. But it didn't take long before the poking started once more.

He tried to ignore it, he really did, but after a few minutes he really couldn't ignore it any longer. He rolled away from wherever it came from and groggily stood up, rubbing his eyes to wake up. "Happy now? I'm up." He muttered. Still sleepy he stood up and stretched, it was only after a few more morning rituals that he finally felt confident enough not to fall asleep while he was standing.

Only a few yards away he could see Toothless watching him with a smirk on his face. It had always annoyed him how much influence the dragon held over him. They'd established the relationship of taking care of one another a long time ago but even so it still annoyed him at times that the dragon was so protective of him. Anything that could harm Toothless would want to have a say in, even if that included his day to day health. It was because of this that his dragon actually regulated Hiccup's sleeping patterns sometimes! Or forced him to eat like he did last night. Really it could be so annoying, yet.. to him it was home. Toothless would worry over him just as Hiccup would over the dragon.

He childishly stuck out his tongue to the dragon and blatantly ignored him. The fire had gone out overnight and he really wasn't all that hungry yet. For a minute he took in a bit more of his surrounding before he had a good idea of something to do. It would get rid of his sleepiness and be fun at the same time. The temperatures sure were high enough.

"Hey Toothless?" The dragon turned his head back to the human before tilting it adorably in question. "Wanna go for a swim bud?" He accompanied the question by a gesture of his thumb pointing towards the lake over his shoulder as he faced the dragon. Toothless seemed to be contemplating on what to do before he jumped abruptly past the boy towards the lake. Halfway his pursuit he turned motioning for Hiccup to follow before making his way for the lake once more.

Hiccup stood there for a few moments before he finally registered what had just happened. A grin spread on his face before following the dragon out onto the field. It'd been so long since he'd last swum and the water actually sparkled here. He really hoped they would be able to stay for a while, it would be amazing to explore this place. The lake in front of them was impossibly clear and started about two hundred meter in front of him. From there on it continued on for a long time as one could barely see the other side. Behind him was a forest which slowly made their way up the mountains. The forests too began about two hundred meter behind him. But the most spectacular thing was to his side. There the forest suddenly moved over the field and didn't stop until it reached the side of the lake. A few hundred meter across the bank there was an abrupt change in scenery as a cliff stood proudly to the side of the water. It was an amazing view which he'd love to explore later. But for now swimming came first... or so he thought. His eyes widened as he noticed something. Without another moment he stopped running and tried to calm his breathing so that he could concentrate better.

 _(Cue Meloetta's dazzling recital - relic song)_

Softly but surely he could hear a faint sound from the distance, it was calm and relaxing and for a moment he wondered why Toothless hadn't noticed it yet. He turned to look at the lake and saw his dragon relaxing, he was repeatedly diving into the deep and catching as many fish as he could. Probably to eat again. Hiccup couldn't keep his eyes on the dragon for very long as his attention was once more pulled towards the soft melody spreading out from the woods. He felt hypnotized and utterly relaxed by it. Compelled to find out exactly what it was he changed his course for the forest that grew on the side of the lake. As he moved along he could slowly hear the voice getting stronger and stronger but not in any way less beautiful. In Fact he found it mesmerizing and even nostalgic, though he couldn't figure out that last bit. He recognized each and every feeling that the song brought to the surface inside of him except for that last one. Had he heard this song before? And if so why couldn't he remember? Quickly he noticed his feet were leading him towards the sound despite him having been so distracted.

It didn't take long for him to reach what he'd been looking for. In front of him was another open field but it was a small one. He could easily reach the opposite side in a few seconds if he ran but nonetheless it was a beautiful place. In the middle was a rock on which a small figure sat. He kept himself hidden leaning against a tree and listened to her as she finished singing her song.

She was very small but very graceful as she sat on the rock. He could easily see she was a Pokémon but nonetheless she was very cute. She had a very feminine form with musical bar-style streaks in her almost sea green hair. Her arms resembled quarter notes, and her pupil-less eyes almost seemed to take the form that whole notes took on. Her entire appearance was entirely attributed to music, though that wasn't too hard to figure out, considering the singing and all.

The thought was strengthened by the jewel on her forehead and a black headpiece that seems to be shaped like a treble clef, it also looked to be an attached microphone such as one often used by singers. She wore a small black dress with a sash around the middle.

Even as she finished Hiccup didn't move away from his position, he was entirely relaxed and enjoyed every minute of it. His eyes had closed of their own accord as he seeped in the energy from around him. Ooh man that sounded so sappy! But it was honestly how he felt and it seemed he wasn't the only to think so. Pokemon from around the forest had gone quiet just to hear the small figure sing. Even after she finished it was almost eerily quiet. The peace didn't last long though as Hiccup felt something shift under his feet. He realized almost immediately what was going on but he was too late to stop it as a twig cracked from under his feet. He cringed as that small action produced a sound that echoed throughout the nearby forest. As expected it didn't go unnoticed as the small figure immediately turned to face him.

He almost felt guilty when he saw the small singer's expression, he didn't know what he'd done wrong but he didn't want to see such an expression on anyone's face. The little Pokemon actually seemed to be on the verge of crying as if he was the most scary thing on the planet! And he was probably one of the most pathetic looking humans on the planet. His family and home village had even called him a toothpick when he was younger! That was how small and thin he was. Then again his village was an exception but even outside he was less than average, some people had even called him cute, but he'd rejected that. He would be anything but cute! He still had pride as a man, no matter how little there may be.

He tried to make an innocent gesture and say something to calm her down but anything he did only seemed to send her into panic. He really wanted to help her but nothing seemed to help. He even started to become slightly amused as he watched the little figure. She seemed to have forgotten entirely that there was such an option as fleeing. She had floated behind the rock on which she was singing and positioned herself so that she could see him. But after his first attempt to placate her she was send into a hissy fit and was mumbling and pacing or floating in circles. She no longer took notice of what he was saying but anything he did would only panic her more. Eventually he did the only thing he thought he could do and sat himself against a tree further away so as not to scare her too much and wait.

It seemed to work though after a few minutes she was still fussing and floating but a little less erratically and with a little less panic. Hiccup had a lot of patience but with another desire bottling itself up inside of him he couldn't keep a hold of it. Reaching quietly for his waist bag he slowly pulled out his sketchbook. He couldn't reach the coloring pencils because they were hidden under everything else but if he could make a sketch then everything else could come later. He opened his sketch book revealing it to be full of all kinds of Pokemon, all kinds; from big to small, scary to cute and normal to legendary. The most reoccurring one though were the ones of his partner Toothless. There were so many of him in lots of different positions, each and every one of them had the most amazing colors.

From the same bag he quietly grabbed his pencil and moved them both onto his lap. A few moments later when his pencil touched a free page in his sketching book he lost sight of all his surroundings. It was a bad habit Hiccup had developed from his earlier years. It was something he did to escape reality when everything became too much for him. He really should have done something about it but with Toothless always there to warn him or protect he didn't really have a reason to. This time though it seemed to work in his favor.

Recent studies suggest that wild animals and Pokemon alike have the capabilities to instinctively know when something or someone shows an interest in them. Whether this is with malicious intent or not, they will notice. As such when Meloetta finally managed to calm down enough to actually think and process her surroundings she noticed that his attention had been averted. At first the option of fleeing finally presented itself in her mind but with the calm she now had, came another feeling, curiosity. She had never met a human before, at least not one that didn't chase her or try to capture her, yet this human didn't even seem to be interested!

Meloetta slowly peeked out from behind her rock and watched the small human sit against the tree. Now that she got a better look she noticed that every now and then he would glance up to look at her general position. Never though did he focus specifically on her, it was as if he was trying to grasp something in the surroundings. She continued to watch as time around them passed slowly.

Hiccup himself though only had one thing on his mind and that was to draw. He was trying to capture Meloetta from when she was singing and everything was still peaceful. He could remember every minute detail but sometimes something would slip in his mind and he would glance up to get a better and more complete picture. He was so incredibly focused that he didn't even notice when that little figure he was drawing decided to take the next step in sating her curiosity. Slowly the small singer floated to where he was sitting. She did it in a very slow and cautious way, when she was so close she could almost touch him she moved around him and positioned herself behind the tree he was leaning against. Slowly she floated up and tried to peek from over his shoulder.

Hiccup slowly looked over his drawing and nodded before slowly releasing the concentration he'd build up. It only took him another minute before he realized what had happened. He let out a long sigh of frustration and slit his eyes in annoyance. Did he seriously have to do this every time he became obsessed with something? Well at least he was satisfied with the results. Slowly he turned his head to look back towards the rock in the clearing. He wanted to know if that Pokemon was still there, he doubted it though. Who knows how long it'd been since he started to draw. He didn't have to wonder long though as a small picturesque face came into sight the moment he turned his head. With not more than a scant distance between them he stared into her small eyes before finally realizing what he was looking at.

"Ah!?" Without another moment he almost crawled backwards in surprise, away from the equally surprised eyes of the other. His sketch book and pencil had fallen off his lap in the process and landed on the ground by the tree. It was only a few meters further away that he realized it was the little singers face he was looking at and not something dangerous. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

Meloetta too had been taken by surprise. For the last half hour she'd been carefully watching the boy as he seemed to make a picture of her singing out of thin air. She was mesmerized by the drawing, it was absolutely gorgeous. She's seen herself plenty of times when she went to the lake but this was different. Sure it felt odd but she'd never seen herself when she was singing and it was nice to know. Eventually though the boy finished and she herself hadn't really been paying attention. Too mesmerized by the drawing it wasn't until much too late that she and the boy noticed each other. On instinct she hid her body behind to tree as the boy scattered away in panic. She watched him for a few minutes as he pulled himself together and tried to calm his breath before her attention was once more pulled away to the piece of paper with her figure on it.

Curiously but cautiously she floated her way to the sketch book and picked it up. Before the boy could try to do anything she floated back behind the tree keeping an eye on him. When Meloetta finally felt safe enough she looked towards the piece of paper. It was pretty and every detail was depicted wonderfully but that wasn't what had her interest now. Oh no she had seen herself for the last half hour. No now she wanted to know what else that boy's talent had brought and she flipped to the next page. She continued to move through the little booklet before she stopped at a particular one. In that single drawing the boy and some kind of dragon-type, maybe another Pokemon? were depicted. The both of them were arguing about some kind of fish the dragon-type seemed to have. She could almost feel the love and trust radiating from them for each other. It continued on in every picture with the dragon and she stopped extra-long with each one. Eventually she reached the first drawing in the booklet and looked at it. She could feel a smile on her face and felt at peace. In the drawing she could see the boy and his dragon-type but both of them were asleep. It was at night and around a campfire but she could see the snow so it must be cold. The dragon-type was curled around the boy to keep him warm while the boy hugged him around the neck only a blanket there to keep the rest warm. She almost felt jealous seeing the trust and love they held for one another.

"So you like my pictures?" The voice was abrupt that she didn't notice it at all until now. The pictures had almost hypnotized her. She floated up and was about to bolt but the sketch book fell down from her lap and she wasn't about to leave it. She was about to take an offensive position before something made her change her mind.

Hiccup watched as the little Pokemon seemed to jump of her skin from fright, she dropped his sketch book. He'd seen how she looked at his drawing and it made his heart jump with joy. Recognition was something he'd barely gotten from anyone else than Toothless. He could practically see the longing in the small singers eyes as she dropped the booklet. It didn't take him long before he made his decision and picked it up. Toothless had always said he was too nice but he really didn't mind most of the time. He put up his body in what he thought was a harmless position and held his arms up towards her with his sketch book. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." He tried to keep his voice steady and honest. "Soo you liked my drawing?" He tried.

The little girl stayed where she was floating in front of him. Her eyes were wide as they stared at him and the sketch book in his arms. Her eyes were filled with distrust and uncertainty but he could see something else there as well when they glanced to the booklet. It was the same thing he'd seen earlier, longing. "I guess you do. Do you want my sketch book?" If it was possible he could see her eyes get even bigger. It took a while but finally he got a reaction as she nodded in answer.

"I can give it to you if you want, it's just I haven't yet finished the last drawing." With his arm he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He didn't really think about the action but Meloetta seemed to take it as something that was less threatening and relaxed slightly. For the first time Meloetta actually looked at the small boy in front of her rather than his actions. The first thing she noticed were his eyes, they were a bright green. They reminded her of the forest and strangely they made her feel at ease. Other than his eyes he was quite plain but he seemed genuinely kind and didn't carry any malice towards anything. It was that last fact that made her finally release her guard and relax. It seemed to be almost rare to find humans that didn't carry any malice at all. Many didn't intend to do anything with it but even just carrying it made her and most Pokemon feel uneasy in the beginning.

"Meloetta!" She nodded and gave him a small smile. Hiccup returned it twice as big as he realized she wanted him to finish the drawing. Without waiting for another minute he reached into his waist bag for is coloring pencils. It didn't end as he would have liked though as Hiccup's usual clumsiness finally presented itself after a day of absence. As soon as he'd found the pencils he dropped them on the ground. When he tried to pick them up he tripped over a branch on the ground landing with his sketch book on top of his head.

"Aww. Arceus, why does this always happen to me?" He mumbled as he slowly picked himself up from the ground. After wiping all the dirt off his clothing he started to collect all of his pencils. Half a minute later when he'd finally finished searching for all of them he tried to pick up his sketch book only to find it in front of him. Meloetta had picked it up and was now holding it in front of his arms for him to take it. With a smile on his face he took it carefully "Thank you!" He replied earnestly.

That small action seemed to make the world to the Pokemon as her smile grew and she started to float circles around him. "Okay, okay." He smiled as he sat down with the booklet. Within minutes he was once again drawing with incredible amounts of concentration. Meloetta soon joined him in his concentration as she watched.

This time it was only when the sun was high in the sky that he finally came out of his trance. The small singer seemed to break away from it at the exact same moment. Hiccup put away his pencils and examined his work. In the end though he turned to be satisfied with the results and stood up. Meloetta though was slightly drowsy from having sat still the entire time and yawned. "Sorry it took so long Meloetta. I've finished it though." She floated up from where she had been and face the little boy she'd come to know in the last couple of hours. A sweet smile made its way onto her face as he showed her the results. She'd been watching him progress but she was even prettier when seen outside of the shadows surrounding the trees they'd been under. She squealed in delight as he closed the sketch book and handed it to her. Meloetta immediately took it but didn't do so without giving the boy a quick hug around the neck.

Hiccup was surprised as he felt two small arms around his neck. He supposed it was her thanks and smiled to her when she moved away. He was confused though when she kept floating in front of him. "Meloetta!" She said pointing at herself before pointing towards him and tilting her head. Understanding ran through him as he realized what it was she wanted to know. "My name?" A small nod "It's Hiccup." When he said his name it wasn't as if he wasn't expecting the usual reaction but when Meloetta fell to the ground in a laughing fit he couldn't help but feel slightly insulted. Even Pokemon reacted that way to the naming sense of his village? How pathetic was that?

As if sensing the delicate issue the musically inclined girl stopped laughing and floated back in front of him. She forcefully, or as forceful as she could, grabbed his face in her hands forcing him to look at her. "Mel mel la me tameloetta!" She exclaimed loudly with a cross expression. Hiccup though just looked confused for a moment before a metaphorical lightbulb appeared to light up above his head. "Thanks Meloetta, I won't let people put me down because of my name." He gave her a blinding smile one that mirrored his exact feelings. She returned it before picking up the sketch book she'd dropped in her laughing fit.

It was only then that Hiccup finally realized something important and felt the blood drain from his face. "Oh no!" He groaned lightly and hit himself in the face at his stupidity. "La mel?" Meloetta floated next to him who had a curious but worried expression. Worried? Why would she be worried about him? He shoved the thought away for the moment. "Don't worry Meloetta. I just forgot that I left Toothless behind so he must be worried sick. Do you know how many hours I've been here?" He got a negative answer and sighed lightly. He would have to sit through Toothless' lecture once more then. He was about to turn around and make his way back before he felt a small tug on the cuff of his shirt. He turned his head to see Meloetta holding on to his shirt looking away shyly. "Is something wrong?" He asked worriedly. Meloetta though just shook he head before pointing in the direction he was going to go and then towards him and herself. Hiccup smiled gently towards the small singer, "You want to come with me?"

Hiccup was convinced that the smile on her face was worth a thousand of his sketch books.


	3. New company

Flight 3: A new friendship

Hiccup had been sure that toothless would kill him for leaving him behind like that. He was convinced that the overprotective and usually very lazy dragon wouldn't even give him a chance to explain the moment he got back. And you know what? He was right. How lovely, note the sarcasm.

It hadn't even been minutes after he'd gotten back to their camp with Meloetta that he was pounced by his friend and growled at extensively. He managed to positively scare the little Pokemon into oblivion and at the same time managed to take out all of his frustrations on Hiccup. Yay.

The dragon had literally sat on Hiccup making sure he couldn't get away and thoroughly lectured him on how he shouldn't disappear like that. He hadn't even managed to get a single word in between the dragon's growls and had eventually given up and just listened frustrated to the growling. He even acted the part of the teenager by scowling!

What he hadn't expected though was the little friend he'd gained suddenly growing a spine. He didn't know whether she had always been like that and was just scared of humans or something but she seemed to have a hidden well of courage. When Toothless had finished lecture after about twenty minutes he proceeded to keep him pinned to the ground but refused to pay him any attention. Eventually Hiccup could feel a lack of blood in the arms that were being pinned to the ground by the dragon. He tried to tell the dragon but was pointedly ignored, he figured that as a dragon he didn't have many problems considering blood flow, Meloetta did though understand though.

After another ten minutes had passed he could barely feel his arms and the little songster seemed to notice. Without any prompting from him whatsoever she moved in front of the dragon and actually yelled at him while pointing at Hiccup' arms. The most amazing thing ever though was the fact that Toothless actually got off of him! Never in his life had he gotten Toothless to concede to anything, he always had to bribe his friend or ask him nicely. When there was something he refused to do there was not much Hiccup could actually do. That hardly ever happened though as the both of them where usually on the same page. Except for each other's safety, that's where their opinions often collided.

Either way Meloetta managed to do the impossible but lost her confidence quickly and hid behind Hiccup when everything had passed. Toothless had only grumbled before returning to where the camp was set up. He blasted a small breath of fire onto the campfire and turned it on smoothly before gruffly sitting next to it. He was still pointedly ignoring him it seemed. Meloetta looked at Hiccup sadly.

"Don't worry Meloetta, this happens sometimes." His smile though felt a bit fake and apparently it wasn't enough for her to leave her worries behind. Really they hadn't known each other for more than a morning and already she was becoming a close friend. How was it anyway that he could make friends with Pokémon so easily, yet humans seemed to be an entirely different thing. Ever since he'd met Toothless when they were small he'd felt much more at ease with Pokémon and nature.

At that time he hadn't yet known that the situation in his home town wasn't normal, or acceptable even, but that only made him grow closer to the Pokémon surrounding him. It was only when he left for his journey four years ago that he managed to get along better with other humans. Realizing that the way he though and handled wasn't as strange here. He'd made many friends and acquaintances yet the trust he had with them almost never amounted to much when he compared it to his Pokémon friends.

He felt a small hand on his shoulder and was swiftly pulled out of his thoughts. He looked back to Meloetta only to see her staring nervously at Toothless who was still sitting in the same spot. He seemed to be watching her intently and he guessed it made her nervous. But why would Toothless be watching Meloetta.. Oh! He groaned slightly as he realized his stupid mistake. Why did he even forget? Oh yeah that stupid dragon had him pinned to the floor! kind of hard to have a normal conversation then huh.

"Toothless!" He called loudly. The dragon was shaken out of his thoughts and turned to face his charge. It took him a moment before he realized he'd been ignoring the boy and returned to watching the opposite fire. Hiccup sighed slightly and decided he would just continue, the dragon could hear him after all.

"Toothless, I thought I would introduce you to our visitor." He asked yet stated. It seemed to be enough for the dragon as he pulled his attention to the both of them. His curiosity won over apparently as the angry spark was replaced by his usual curiosity for everything. Meloetta was still hiding partially behind Hiccup's shoulder, not that he'd blame her, a dragon can be quite intimidating.

"Toothless, this is Meloetta. I met her just now when I kinda forgot to tell you where I was. Hehe." The dragon huffed in his direction but sent a small nod towards Meloetta. She returned it with a timid smiled didn't move away from his shoulder just yet. Hiccup though was more interested in Toothless' reaction as he'd always known the dragon to distrust everyone on principle. Rarely did he show any interest or trust in anything living other than Hiccup. He would warm up to others after a while but first meeting where always met with wariness, no matter his curiosity.

"Hmm yeah, okay anyway." He coughed in a slightly awkward manner, "Meloetta, this is Toothless. He's my friend, partner and brother in all but blood and he's also the one drawn in my sketches." He had barely finished his sentence when he saw the recognition shine through her eyes. For the first time since his pleasant, read with sarcasm, lecture Meloetta moved from behind his shoulder and reached for his, now her, sketch book. She sat down quickly and started to flip her way through it before reaching the drawing she'd probably been looking for. With a bit of practice she flipped the pages neatly behind each other and held the sketch book in front of her with big smile on her face. She seemed to be proud to have found the right picture in his sketch book. For a moment he wondered how old the little Pokemon was. She didn't seem to act very maturely yet, but she was very wary. If she was as young as he though she was, then what was it that caused her to be so wary. Hiccup thought about it for a minute before he turned back to the situation at hand. Unless he asked he probably wouldn't get definitive answer.

He looked at the picture he'd drawn, it was the one she'd stopped at before in the forest. The one where both Hiccup and Toothless were curled around one another in a deep sleep. The picture brought a gentle smile to Hiccups face and he could see Toothless relax too. He turned to look at Meloetta and gave her a smile. "Yep, that's the one I meant. Thanks!" His complement only seemed to make her mood better at she started to float circles around him in joy. Even Toothless couldn't help but be affected by her mood as he rumbled out a sound in amusement.

For a moment Hiccup caught Toothless' eyes with his own and that was all it took for Hiccup to know what Toothless thought. It became even clearer when the dragon snorted too. "That's so not true!" His exclamation caused Meloetta to stop floating circles around him only to look at him in confusion. It took him a moment before he noticed but when he did he sighed slightly. "Toothless said I look for trouble but I reject that. Trouble always seems to find me!" To the last bit a bit of his frustration was added but Meloetta didn't seem to mind. She tilted her head to side before turning to the dragon and pointing at Hiccup. "Mel la meloetta mel?" It took him a moment before he figured out what she was saying, it didn't help when he saw Toothless smirk, apparently she agreed with the dragon. He grumbled something back before the little songstress laughed. Shortly after their exchange she floated back to him only to lean herself on his head and start to fiddle with his hear.

"Hey Mel? What are you doing?" He felt something move through his hair and assumed it was Meloetta running her hands through it. It was only a few seconds later that he noticed something else. "Do you mind that?" He asked when he didn't get a reply on his first question. This one did though, get a reaction. Her face briefly came back into sight as she peered over his shoulder. Tilting her head slightly he could see the question mark floating above his head. "I meant whether you minded me calling you Mel?" As soon as that cleared itself the little songstress shook her head and smiled brightly. Quickly she turned back to his hair and started to fiddle with it again.

Hiccup sighed slightly. "What is it with my hair?" He grumbled a bit. The chuckle he heard from the other side of the camp fire though made him think he hadn't been quiet enough. He glared playfully at the dragon before facing the other way.

Slowly, making sure that he didn't bother Meloetta, who seemed content to fiddle with his hair, he moved to lay on his back in the grass. He stared up at the sky and watched as the clouds slowly moved across the blue horizon. The sun was still high up in the air so it was probably still around noon maybe a bit later. The clouds slowly changed shapes and before he knew it he was trying to find shapes in them, finding various different ones; Pidgey's, Glameow's, even one he though looked like a Grumpig. The last one had made him chuckle, to Meloetta's confusion.

It didn't take too long though for him to start drifting away and slowly closing his eyes. It was peaceful and he was enjoying every minute of it. The last four years had been the best of his life, the freedom, acceptance and.. And just everything was great. Sure he'd come to know that there was a flip side to everything but still he could make his own choices and he wasn't dependent on anyone else. He wasn't chained to anything or anyone.

Speaking of chained he wondered whether that Raikou was alright. It had been their main objective to rescue him but he'd only seen him disappear into the forest afterwards. He didn't expect any reward, he'd helped plenty of Pokemon from teams all over but the legendaries never seemed to stay long. There were a few he'd met again and they tended to be quite friendly to him. He guessed they just didn't want be around the place they'd been captured at any longer than necessary. That and they were probably still weary around humans.

The next time he'd opened his eyes he could see that the surroundings were slowly beginning to darken. The night was approaching as the sun slowly touched the horizon. It wouldn't be actually dark for another hour or so Hiccup thought. It was summer and warm but because of the mountains and trees the surroundings would get dark quickly. He could still feel a small hand tangled in his hair but he also felt a small figure lean against his head. Slowly he moved his head to the side so he could get a better view. He could see Meloetta sitting next to his head with her sketch book in front of her, she still seemed mesmerized by it and it made him feel proud.

His movement though seemed to alert her as she moved away slightly from his head so he could sit up. It was exactly what he did as he moved to sit next to her. He didn't say anything as he watched her turn the pages a few times before he looked around him. It always amazed him how one's surrounding could change so much depending on the time. Everything was much darker now, you could call it creepy but to him it was just another calming thing. His dragon was a night fury and nocturnal, because of that he was very used to the dark and actually felt at ease with it.

Something about that last thought though made him pause. For a moment he tried to figure out what it was before realization came to him. In an abrupt movement he turned to face Toothless with questioning eyes. The dragon was barely awake but had noticed his little moment of panic and opened his eyes. It was when he saw his humans eyes questioning him that he nodded. He watched as Hiccup's eyes flashed to the little form sitting next to him before flicking to the sky that was slowly darkening. It was then that those eyes once more glanced to him slightly uncertain. It didn't take him long to figure out what the boy meant and he thought about it for a moment. Usually something like that would bother him but surprisingly it didn't this time. With what he knew to be a loopy grin he gave Hiccup a nod.

Hiccup immediately felt his spirit rise again when he got an agreement from his partner. Sure he wasn't sure whether Meloetta would even want to but now that he knew Toothless didn't mind he didn't have anything to lose. He was about to ask the little songstress when he saw her staring at a pretty flower not too far away from them. Why was she.. Was she frowning at a flower? For a moment he felt very confused before he saw her gaze flick towards his sketch book. A grin made its way onto his face before he opened the pouch on his waist, he reached into it and took out a much used pencil. He would preferably give her a new one but they would probably be too big for her hands. A used one was smaller in size and would be easier to use.

"Hey Mel," he called. She turned around when she heard his voice. "You wanna try?" He held up the pencil in front of her. A smile grew on her face and she reached to take the pencil out of his hand. "You know if you want something you only have to ask and I'll see what I can do." Hiccup stated honestly. Meloetta nodded vigorously before turning to the sketch book. Hiccup could only smile as he saw her draw like a mad man, or girl. It reminded him of when he was small and first learned to draw. He was always alone and quiet, he was empty. But then one day when he was sitting outside he saw a huge bird fly over him. It was red with golden yellow and when the sunlight hit it's feathers they seemed to glow like the rainbow! He was mesmerized by the sight, it's colors, feathers, form, everything. The only thing he wanted to do was see it again somewhere other than memories. That was when he first attempted to draw, he quickly found it was something he enjoyed.

Hiccup shifted his legs as he watched Meloetta slowly draw the flower in front of them. It was getting darker so he hoped she could finish in time. Time? Oh wait! "Hey Mel? I need to talk to you for a minute." His tone was serious and it seemed to draw her attention. She put down the sketch book and pencil carefully and turned to face him. "La?" She asked worriedly.

He smiled slightly "Don't worry, you didn't do anything." That seemed to ease her worries a bit as she relaxed slightly. "Me?" She asked tilting her head in confusion this time. Hiccup sighed and glanced towards the sky. "I think you've noticed that Toothless is nocturnal right?" She nodded slightly. "Well that means we travel at night and we only intended to stop here for some relaxation today but.." He trailed of slightly as he watched her realize what he was trying to say. Tears quickly gathered in the corner of her eyes and she seemed to start to panic slightly. It was all he needed to move on to the point. "So we were going to leave tonight. Anyway I wanted to ask whether, maybe.. If you want to... Come with us?" He closed his eyes awaiting a rejection at the end of the sentence. What he didn't expect though was a pair of arms to hook themselves around his neck and a cry that sounded very happy. Slowly he opened one eyelid to see Meloetta nodding excitedly and hugging him tightly.

"Yes?" He asked incredulously, she only nodded happily in response to his disbelief. "But why would you want to come with us. We've only met you today and you have a life here?!" He almost sounded distraught at the end. Hiccup himself didn't even know why he was acting like this, he wanted Meloetta to come with them. Maybe it was he felt he was rushing through things, or because he didn't think he was worth it? Probably both, he didn't want to force her to leave something precious behind.

Meloetta though didn't seem to agree with that as she picked up the sketch book and opened the page that had both Hiccup and Toothless together playing in a lake. They both looked very happy and content. Meloetta pointed excessively to the drawing and then to herself and Hiccup.

"You want to stay with us? You want to be a part of what we are?" He asked slightly hopeful. Meloetta nodded and closed the booklet again and gently put it down. She patted her hand on her chest confidently, probably to show she could take care of herself before holding out her hand. Hiccup watched the small action and reached out to take the hand before shaking it. He gave her a happy smile, she really wanted to come with them! They had another family member!

At that last thought he could feel his eyes glow slightly, when he looked into Meloetta's eyes they too started to glow lightly. Though it was lesser on Meloetta's side, it was still an impressive sight. They continued to stare in each other's eyes, Hiccup seemingly hypnotized and in no way focused while Meloetta just seemed confused and curious.

After a few minutes the glow finally went down as both their eyes returned to normal. Finally when Meloetta could feel the control of her body coming back she tried to see if anything had changed. As far as she was concerned nothing had changed though she did feel slightly different. It was only when she heard a thud that her attention was pulled back to Hiccup. Who was now laying on the ground panting heavily as if he'd run an entire marathon. She was about to start panicking when Toothless moved in front of her and picked Hiccup up and gently pulled him onto a blanket he'd gotten seemingly out of nowhere. He covered the boy with one of his wing and close to the fire to keep him for becoming cold as night came over them. The entire sight had Meloetta calm, she wanted to know what had happened to her friend. It was when Toothless looked her in the eyes that she felt the need leave. With that one glance she knew what had happened. But she didn't know how it was that she knew.


	4. Meeting N

Flight 4: the city of art

Hiccup groaned as he slowly came to. The moment he opened his eyes he thought he'd gone blind but before panic started to take control he caught sight of the moon. It hung high up the sky lighting up parts and pieces of his surroundings. The moment he'd woken up he hadn't noticed but the surroundings were familiar. It was the same place earlier that day or yesterday? Either way, he could see the campfire, a sketch book and two other figures laying closely around him.

He couldn't quite remember having lost consciousness, only remembering that he looked into Meloetta eyes before everything had gone dark. It wasn't something new to him though, up until now it had happened several times with different Pokemon. Even with Toothless, though Hiccup didn't know if the dragon could be classified as a Pokémon. Het never seen another of his sort. Anyway he couldn't remember and he'd stopped worrying about it after it happened the first few dozen times. Besides in the end it had brought him a lot of opportunities he'd never have without it.

For a moment he laid there quietly, enjoying the peace and silence around him. But it wasn't long before the huge reptile that was curled around him noticed that his charge was awake. With a few grumbles and other odd noises the dragon stood up and stretched extensively. He probably wasn't used to napping at night Hiccup mused silently. When both he and Toothless had woken up Meloetta didn't last long, though she had a lot more trouble than the both of them.

"Mel? La mel." Meloetta mumbled dazedly as she floated around a bit. She didn't seem to be very awake though as she almost hit a tree twice. Both times Hiccup steered her the other way as all of them rose with the night. "Meloetta if you're so tired you can lean on my head if you want?" She'd done it before so it didn't matter much to him. Still not entirely awake she nodded and slowly floated over to him before sitting on his shoulder and leaning over the back of his head. For a moment he thought she immediately dozed off before he felt small hands pluck at his hair.

Pokemon often seemed to like his hair but none of them would actually explain why! It frustrated him a lot before he'd made peace with the mystery. It was still annoying not to know but it wasn't like he minded it. At least as long as Toothless doesn't lick him with that sticky tongue of his. He could swear the dragon did it on purpose, even though he knows it doesn't wash out!

When he felt a push on his side he was pulled out of his thoughts as he saw Toothless standing next to him. He put his hand on top of the dragon's snout and scratched it lightly. Toothless seemed to enjoy it and purred loudly in delight. "Yeah bud, we need to get some supplies since I don't have any after that last raid. Besides I need to talk to Lenora about something." The dragon barely nodded in understanding as Hiccup kept scratching him. When an idea suddenly came to him he let out a slight smirk before starting to scratch Toothless like crazy. Slow he moved his hands until they reach his partners throat just below the chin. As soon as he scratched there the dragon was down for the count and plopped down on the ground seemingly made out of mush and entirely satisfied. Without paying his friend another look he moved over to where the camp fire was put out and picked up his pouch that had gotten loose and the sketch book.

The pouch was quickly strapped to his hip before he looked at the booklet. It was Meloetta's now but they were going to fly soon and he doubted the little songstress could keep up with a sketch book half her size in her hands. When he glanced at her he saw she still kept nodding off so he put the book in his pouch, better safe than sorry. Once the fire was checked and all traces that they'd been there had been removed he turned back to Toothless.. Who was still laying lazily on the ground.

"Hey Toothless, we need to go!" When the dragon didn't react Hiccup just sighed. The moon was still high but it was slowly moving down the horizon. It would probably be light in another few hours and they'd planned to be at Nacrene city before light. They weren't too far away though, at the moment they were in the forest between Nacrene city and Black city. Most people didn't come here before dawn, the Pokémon were extremely wild and the surrounding could be harsh. Hiccup though, he'd been here plenty of times and besides he knew most of the avoided forests in Unova, it was where he spent most of his time.

"Come on you useless reptile, we need to go!" He deadpanned as he tried to coax Toothless into getting up. It seemed to work when his friend stood up slowly and moved to stand next to him, not without a whack of his tail though. "Ow! What'd you that for!" The dragon only raised an eyebrow in response. Hiccup huffed, "Well it's true isn't it?" Another whack. "Ow stop that!"

"Come on let's go." Without another moment for them to start bickering again Hiccup got onto Toothless' back smoothly. The dragon slowly sank to the ground and stretched his wings to their full span. It took him only another seconds to flap his wings and take off into the sky. It wasn't surprising for Hiccup to have Toothless fly at such high speeds so abruptly but their little passenger wasn't. "Mel Mel Mel Mel Mel Mel!" The songstress yelled in his ear as she clamped onto his arm. She was thoroughly panicked.

"Toothless could you slow down for a bit?" He yelled over the loud noise the wind made while they ascended. Toothless heard him clearly and they all slowed down to a peaceful speed though the dragon seemed disappointed. Hiccup patted him under his chin for comfort before turning his own attention to Meloetta who was still clutching his arms and hiding her head against his shirt. Slowly he lifted his arm up and put his hand on her head. "Hey don't worry," he said gently. It seemed to help as she calmed slightly. "Toothless just likes his speed, he probably didn't think there was anyone who didn't. If you think it's scary then we'll slow down for a bit. We can always fly at high speeds later and you don't have to come with us if you don't want to." After a few minutes she finally calmed down entirely and let go of his shoulder to float on her own. It seemed she could keep up as she stayed next to Hiccup.

"You alright now?" He asked. She nodded with a smile before sitting in front of him on Toothless' back. Toothless turned his head around for a minute as he looked Meloetta in the eyes. Hiccup knew he was asking her if she was alright and in his own way for her forgiveness. She nodded happily to, what he could see, both reasons before closing her eyes in the wind. Hiccup smiled as he watched their new friend, looks like they'd gotten another who loved the sky as much as they did. He figured they'd taken her by surprise and that she would come to love high speeds just as much as they do.

Because they weren't flying as fast as they could have it took them four hours to get to Nacrene city. It didn't matter much to them though as they all enjoyed each other's company. After those four hours had passed Hiccup could finally see Nacrene city coming into sight and he patted Toothless' neck. "Hey bud, I can see the city coming into sight can you land in the forest?" The dragon just rolled his eyes at the question while Hiccup and Meloetta laughed. "Sure of course you can, sorry for asking oh mighty dragon!" He would have added a bow to it but considering they were hundreds of meters up in the air and Hiccup had his clumsy moments he'd decided not to.

Despite his taunting Toothless was definitely a good flyer and had them on the ground within minutes. Though that was probably expected from someone who grew up with wings. Though considering his own two feet at time? Maybe you couldn't take it for granted.

As soon as Toothless touched the ground they got off of Toothless and stood next to him. Hiccup saw the dragon start to walk towards the direction he'd seen the city in and cleared his throat loudly. Toothless stopped abruptly and looked in his direction while Meloetta was watching the situation in confusion.

"Toothless you know the drill." He stated, the dragon didn't seem to hear him and looked to his surroundings. "You know we can't risk it! Not after last time." As soon as he mentioned that Toothless turned to glare at him but Hiccup wouldn't back down on this. "Yeah I know it wasn't your fault but you are one of a kind and people are going to be interested. Not only good people and we can't risk you going on a rage again like that. Don't worry I'll make sure to be careful." It didn't seem to calm his partner entirely but he did seem to understand the importance. Especially in a city they frequented. Hiccup though noticed something after his little speech and backtracked a little. "One of a kind? Hey Mel I haven't seen your kind before, not to be rude but are they rare?" He tried to ask the last part as gentle as possible, some Pokemon had taken offense to it before and he'd learned to be careful with topics such as species.

The little songstress gave him a sad look and nodded her head. The sadness in her eyes made him give her a gentle smile which seemed to brighten her mood a bit. "Don't worry you've got us now!" It did the trick as the sadness left entirely. Hiccup continued. "But Mel if you aren't too common I don't think it'll be smart to take you with me to the market." The target in question tilted her head in confusion. Hiccup was pretty sure by now that Meloetta was very young, she didn't have a certain wisdom to things most Pokemon had. Even if she hadn't met a lot of humans Pokemon instinctively pick up things during their lives.

"Just like not all Pokemon are nice not all humans are either. Some will do nasty things to get what they want. Though the odds of that happening are pretty low I don't want to risk it." She nodded in understanding but her actions said otherwise. She floated up to him and gripped his arm tightly refusing to let go. "Mel I can't take you with me! I don't want to risk it." It didn't seem to help though as she only gripped harder.

Meanwhile Toothless was watching from a distance with amusement shining in his eyes as he grinned his usual toothless grin. Hiccup almost wanted to groan in annoyance, why oh why did he always get the stubborn ones! He was about to once more try to get Meloetta to let go before he looked her in the eyes directly. She stared back intensely before both their eyes started to glow once more. This time though it wasn't too bright, they only shined more in their natural color. Both green and blue focused on one another yet not seeing each other.

Hiccup this time though wasn't losing consciousness, he refused to call it fainting, and was instead suddenly rapidly looking through several pictures and visions. Almost all of them were of Meloetta, it was very similar to the first he'd asked Toothless on what his pride was like. Most of the pictures were of her exploring the forests and having the time of her life. It was a vision though that held his attention. In it he watched as she was attacked by a man with green hair with a weird visor covering one of his eyes. The man face wasn't too clear, probably because Mel's memories weren't too clear and the man was wearing a cloak covering almost everything. His hair was only sticking out while the visor reflected some light allowing him to see both. It was blurry but his green hair definitely stood out.

He watched as the man summoned several Pokemon to try and capture her. He was surprised when he saw her disappear into nothing. It was an incredible ability Hiccup thought as he watched the memory worriedly. He had to remind himself that this wasn't real when he saw the man direct one of his Pokemon to the direction she was in.

From how he'd gotten to know Meloetta he really expected her to panic and run, but in an unexpected show of calm she let go of her invisibility and turned to face him. It surprised him to see such a dedicated expression on her face. He was even more surprised when she started to sing and change. Together with the melody of her song she slowly started to change more and more. Eventually when she stopped singing her entire look was different. She now had auburn hair that seemed to be stylized in a high bun and red eyes. Everything that had formerly been ocean green was now the same auburn color as he hair. The microphone she wears on her ear was now some sort of brooch in her hair. Other than that her dress had turned into a tutu at the bottom in four separate pieces that looked similar to petals. _Pirouette forme_ his mind somehow revealed.

Soon it became clear though that it wasn't only her looks that had changed. When she started to singlehandedly defend herself from three other Pokemon. It was clear that she wasn't going to win, they had more experience and had more number. But despite that she managed to hold on her own and was wearing them out. He didn't know how long he was watching but when an Eelektross, one of the Pokemon in the group, suddenly used flash it seemed Meloetta had her chance to escape. Without even looking to where she flew she made herself invisible and flew into the forest at high speed. It seemed as if the man hadn't managed to find her when the vision ended.

Toothless watched patiently as his partner slowly came back from his vision. He probably would have worried himself endlessly if he wasn't familiar with Hiccups visions. It had happened on several occasions and no matter how much the boy saw they never lasted more than a minute or two, well at least the natural ones. The both of them had learned that a Pokemon could induce one if it willed it strongly enough. Rarely did those take too long but they were unpredictable and did last longer, sometimes with side effect if induced with ill intention. Those worried Toothless. In this case though it was Meloetta who induced one and he did trust her.

While Toothless was thinking Hiccup slowly came too, feeling like someone had just hit his head with a sledgehammer. It took him a moment before he figured out where he was and what had happened. Meloetta also had to orientate herself before she realized where she was, though it seemed to be slightly easier for her.

"Meloetta what was that for?" Hiccup complained when he was capable enough to. The little Pokemon just puffed up her chest proudly causing Hiccup to sigh in exasperation. "You could have just shown me you can take care of yourself! You know maybe a demonstration or a discussion but no my friends have to literally infiltrate my head. how lovely!" The sarcasm was dripping from his voice but it was in no way mad. He didn't feel angry in any way, sure it was tiring experience every time but it always seemed to be necessary. Even now he'd at least learned that he needed to keep Mel away from that guy with the visor. That last bit would be difficult though especially considering he didn't know what the guy looked like for the most part.

Slowly he stood up, he felt a bit wobbly but it didn't take long before his balance came back and walking was longer a problem. "Hey guys I really think I'll going to go visit Lenora now. After that I'll pass by poke-markt to get our supplies so we can leave here." He was about to move away before he felt something pull on his shirt. Looking down he could see Meloetta stubbornly pull on his shirt. He looked towards Toothless pleading for him to help but Toothless only gave him an emotionless stare that seemed to bore through him. Sighing in defeat he held up his hands. "Fine! Mel you can come with but you have to camouflage yourself when there are people and Toothless.." He pointedly stared at the dragon. "You will stay here." He only got a huff as a reaction but Hiccup supposed that was the most he'd get.

"Come on Mel, don't mind the him he just loves to sulk anyway." Before the dragon could make some kind of a comeback or get revenge Hiccup moved out of the way and left for Nacrene city. Meloetta followed him as she was mesmerized by her surroundings.

It wasn't long before they neared the city. Hiccup had purposely chosen to enter through the park as it was both faster and much less busy. Meloetta had taken up her seat on his shoulder once more and was enjoying the view. "Hey Mel, did you know Nacrene city is also called the city of art?" She shook her head in wonder before turning her eyes towards the city that was rapidly coming into view. "It's because many artist gather here to try out their ideas. You'll probably see plenty of drawings and art works. If you want we can go take a look but only if you'll promise to stay out of sight." The last part was said sternly but she didn't seem to mind as only wonder filled her eyes.

She did keep her promise though, the moment they'd entered the city and they were surrounded by people that was when she disappeared. He still felt the weight on his shoulder but her entire form had disappeared, it was amazing. They passed many street that were filled with graffiti art and vendor filled with the weirdest of toys. Several times did he feel her weight leave his shoulder to have a look. Despite not being able to see her he could sense her position vaguely and made sure to keep close. It was only when they'd finally reached the Nacrene museum that he actually whispered to her that they needed to go. He could almost see the disappointment on her face and told her they would visit later.

There was a long row in front of the museum but he just bypassed it taking the privet door. Lenora had told him to use it if it was important and he thought it was. The moment he entered the museum he was greeted by several workers there whom he knew. Each one of them greeted him amicably before telling him that Lenora would be back soon. Apparently she was out on an errant from professor Juniper so he was sent to the room behind the cupboard to wait.

Meloetta apparently though it was private enough and revealed herself again. "MEL!" She suddenly exclaimed with sparkling eyes. The enthusiasm rolled of her in waves and almost seemed to drown him. "Mel la mel, ta mel la!" She floated around erratically while holding her head with her hands. She almost seemed to be in love causing Hiccup to sweat drop. "You liked it that much?" She nodded vigorously in response and only continued on her sugar high stampede through the room. Hiccup really hoped Lenora didn't mind if anything broke because the odds where high something would if Meloetta continued like this.

"Well well Hiccup, seems like you got yourself a pretty impressive friend there." Panic rose in him for a moment before he recognized the voice. He took a deep breath and stood up. "Well Lenora you know how I am! Nobody could resist being friends with a toothpick." He proudly gestured to himself causing the both of them to laugh. It took them both a few moments to calm down.

"Well Hiccup long time no see, what you here for then?" She asked politely giving him a small hug. Hiccup returned it before standing in front of her. He noticed Meloetta had hidden herself once more. "Hey Mel you can come out. I trust her besides she's already seen you." She didn't come out though and stayed hidden, he did feel a push behind him though. He figured she was hiding behind him and shrugged slightly towards Lenora. "She's shy don't worry. Anyhow I've got some info you might want to know." She raised an eyebrow in question as Hiccup became serious.

"A few days ago I acquired some information that referred to the Nacrene museum. Apparently this new group called team Plasma is planning to steal the dragon skull from your museum." He could hear her gasp slightly but he just raised an eyebrow in question. She sighed in response "Almost a week ago this team plasma you're referring to held a speech in Accumula town. They preached about how Pokemon were superior creatures and that we should let them go and no longer bind them to us. Many people listened for some reason and it's already causing people to become restless."

Hiccup listened patiently as she explained about team plasma. It was almost laughable how team plasma acted like hypocrites. Despite wanting the liberation of Pokemon, they still used them and treated them the same as any other team. He had seen some honest people on the team though and had to admit that some of their methods were a lot better than teams like Aqua and Magma, or even team Rocket. The last one could be plain pathetic though sometimes.

"But how did you get this information anyway?" He was startled by the question and realized he'd been drifting off slightly. He didn't know how much of her explanation he'd missed and decided to answer the question outright. "I infiltrated their aircraft." He stated nonchalantly leaving out most of the details. Lenora though didn't seem to notice that and went for the first thing that did seem be important to her. "You infiltrated an aircraft of an unidentified team?!" She seemed to have an shocked expression but it quickly morphed into anger. Hiccup despite noticing her anger didn't really get what the problem was. "Yeah, so what?" That turned out to be the wrong thing to say though when she exploded.

"So what?! You're a fifteen year old kid who should be leaving these affairs to adults. I hope you took Toothless with you!" His sheepish smile though apparently told her all she needed to know. "Why are you always so reckless Hiccup? You're not supposed to be doing something like raiding teams all over the place. I can understand you want to help Pokemon but you can't keep doing this!" Her rage slowly disappeared as she almost plead for him to rethink his ideas. Hiccup though wouldn't have it, he'd decided to take this path three years ago and he would keep following it. "Why? Why can't I do it? Cause I'm a kid? Well then you can stop telling me this because I've never been a kid, I don't even know how to be a kid!" He yelled the last bit before huffing slightly from anger. Why did they have to have this conversation every single time he visited. He didn't look the woman in her eyes as he'd see the usual pity she had when he said something he hadn't wanted to. "Anyway I came to tell you that." He was about to walk of before a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him around. He didn't even have the chance to struggle as he was pulled into a giant hug from the woman.

"Okay Hiccup you win. It's your dream and vision, but at least let me worry about ya when you're here." She whispered in his ear. She held onto him for another moment before letting go. Now that the both of them had calmed down the mood seemed to be a lot better than before.

"You know what?" Lenora suddenly said pulling his attention to her with a smile. "I'm having a gym challenge in a few minutes I think, wanna come and watch?" It was a question but she probably already knew the answer. Hurriedly he rushed up the stairs through another door that led to the gym grounds. It was only when he looked around that he noticed nobody had arrived yet. "Me..la?" He heard from his shoulder causing him the chuckle. The little songstress was probably dizzy from his running charade.

"I guess they haven't arrived yet." He mumbled to himself looking around. The gym field itself was quite plain looking. It had the usual Pokemon battle marks on a field made of normal ground. The battle ground itself was located in a greenhouse that was built behind the museum and connected by door. Only the backdoor led to it though, well besides the fire exits. Next to the entry door were two tribunes were people could sit. Surrounding the other sides of the field were plants and all kinds of flowers. It was a pretty sight but considering the flowers were quite common it was also a bit plain. Hiccup moved to sit on a small patch of grass under a tree that was close to one of the tribunes. If no one was here yet he could at least enjoy a bit of nature while waiting. He made his way down the stairs on the tribunes and onto the field. He quickly moved onto the field of plants surrounding the field and sat down at the base of a tree. The place itself wasn't too far removed from the field and was easily reached.

Hiccup was about to close his eyes as he made himself comfortable before he felt a nudge on his side. It was quiet for a moment or two before Meloetta came into sight once more. "Mel La?" In her hands was the same flower she had been drawing previously when they had still been in the woods. He gave her a smile before reaching into his pouch for her sketch book. "Make sure to stay out of sight though and at least in the same room as me." He said sternly as he found what he'd been looking for. Meloetta smiled brightly while nodding vigorously, "Ta!" Hiccup could only shake his head in exasperation and she almost pulled the sketch book from his arms. And to think she'd been so timid only a day back! He briefly wondered if it was because she was a girl before shaking the thoughts away. That came too close to stereotyping for his liking, it was exactly the thing he loathed.

The little songstress moved to sit next to him as she continued the drawing she'd started earlier. She was in plain sight but Hiccup was glad though. He hadn't given her the chance to finish her drawing and it made him feel a little guilty. Especially when seeing the bright smile on her face. He noted in his head to let her draw more often.

Their peace and quiet wasn't something that lasted long though as he faintly heard voices and footsteps approaching. He was about to motion for Meloetta to hide only to find she'd already disappeared. He figured she had better hearing considering she was a Pokemon highly involved with sound. The sketch book had also disappeared this time.

The approaching group, he quickly realized, was only a few more seconds away from the door. Just as quickly as he expected the doors were opened only to have a boy run into the room. "So this is the Nacrene gym!" He didn't yell but his voice was still very loud. "Can't wait to battle, right Pikachu?" His smile seemed to almost fall off his face that was how wide it was. "Pika!" His partner, a Pikachu, had the same expression. Quite curiously he noted that both trainer and Pikachu were entirely in synch. Each actions was done by the both of them together as if they were two pieces of a puzzle. It made him think of Toothless and him, a bond he'd seen only rarely in the last few years.

The boy was wearing a red and white cap with a blue Pokemon symbol on it. He was short and had black spiky hair. He wore a short sleeved, zipped up sweater. It was mostly white and blue but the zippers were yellow while a half circle pattern on his shoulders were black. On his hands were a pair of fingerless gloves. His pants were black and long while his shoes were red and black. Hiccup noticed that he was probably the same age or older than him.

It was only after the boy came barging onto the gym grounds though that he noticed the boy wasn't alone. Aside from Lenora he apparently had three traveling partners, or maybe just spectators he didn't really know. There were two boys and one girl. The girl had an Axew sitting in her arms out of its poke ball just like the other boy. She had a very dark tint of blue hear that was partially tied into ponytails with the rest hanging down her back, also in a ponytail down the end. She had chocolate colored skin and was wearing a light yellow and pink dress shirt with a ribbon at the hip. The dress shirt was pink around the hips were it hung similarly to a skirt and around the wrist and neck. Under it were a pair of white and yellow leggings. Her shoes were orange with a single yellow stripe on the top.

The guy standing next to the girl with an Axew seemed to be the oldest of the group, probably in his twenties. He had grass green colored hair that was short with only a little bit sticking out on top. He was wearing a neat vest suit that was black with a white undershirt with long sleeves. The buttons on his vest were yellow and all closed neatly. Under his chin was a green bow-tie. His shoes were brown and fitted neatly under his suit.

Lastly was another boy around their age maybe a bit older. He also had green hair but a tint lighter and a lot longer. It was hanging down to his back in a ponytail He had a black and gray cap on his head. This kid was wearing a white vest with a collar and a black shirt with long sleeves under it. The vest did have any buttons and was closed entirely on the front. Hanging around his neck was a pendant, it was similar to the planet Saturn only with two rings instead of one. He was wearing sand brown colored pants with a chain hanging from his hip. Hanging on the end of the chain was a cube. Other than the curious keychain he was wearing a pair of green shoes.

Hiccup wondered for a moment what the cube was for, it was quite big and looked like it would get in the way. It was golden colored and shaped like a Rubik's cube, it wasn't one though. The middle square of each side on the cube was colored black. Also on several other squares on each side were small circles of green, randomly positioned. It had captured his attention for a moment as he studied it.

"Hey! Who are you?" He suddenly heard from his left ear. The suddenness of everything caused him to stumble backwards in surprise. His foot misplaced itself on the ground and For a moment he felt a loss of balance. It didn't last long though before a hand grabbed onto his arm and pulled him upright. "Woah! Sorry, you alright?"

Hiccup looked up to see the boy holding onto his arm and pulling him back onto his feet. The boy looked startled but seemed to be genuinely sorry. He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "Yeah don't worry. You just startled me, I think." The other boy seemed to be relieved before once more smiling. "Yeah sorry about that, I didn't mean to. I'm Ash by the way and this is Pikachu." He said pointing at him and Pikachu respectively before holding out his hand in a greeting.

Hiccup stared at it for a moment before reciprocating it. "Nice to meet you Ash, I'm Hiccup." Mentally though he was counting down before... "Hahaha, Hiccup?! Is that a name?" He started laughing. Hiccup stared blankly at him before walking past him towards Lenora. He'd quickly come to know how people reacted to the names his village gave in the outside world. Experience had told him that a reaction without laughter was rare, it had also told that explaining wouldn't really help. So he'd learned ignore them before continuing the conversation, if he felt like it.

While Ash was laughing hysterically behind him, not yet noticing his conversation partner had left, he walked towards Lenora. The gym leader had moved down the stairs with Ash's other companions while they'd been talking. "Lenora, is Ash your opponent in the next gym battle?" He asked as he neared. She gave him a smile before nodding "Yeah, I couldn't give it to him immediately because of some problems but they've been resolved." Hiccup though just gave her a confused expression. "A Problem?"

"Yeah, a Yamask had been haunting this museum for a while so I had to close it for a while. Last night they helped me find it. It took us a while but it had lost its mask so we had to find it. Eventually though it left and I opened my gym today." Hiccup nodded in understanding. "Is that why the museum was so busy today?" This time she was the one who nodded. "Yes it's been awhile so when I announced it people flooded in this morning." She sighed dramatically with what she said but Hiccup could see the relief in her eyes.

"Well I guess it's good Yamask found it's mask." He stated truthfully before turning to the other three people watching their conversation. The girl was becoming inpatient and he'd rather not cause something. The other guys though just seemed interested and distracted respectively. The cube kid Hiccup noticed was looking towards the tree he'd been sitting under. Hiccup narrowed his eyes as watched the kid continue to stare. He'd have to keep an eye on this one, whether he noticed Meloetta was there or not. The other guy was just studying him the same way he'd been studying him, he was probably one of the more knowledgeable ones in the group. Or had more experience with people.

"Anyway I guess I should introduce you guys shouldn't I?" Lenora said breaking the silence that had fallen for a moment. Hiccup nodded and she turned so that she was facing each of them. "Well Hiccup, these are Iris," she pointed to the girl, "Cilan" the suit guy, "and N." Wow he was still staring towards Meloetta. "I suppose you already met Ash." Hiccup nodded, "yeah he was most kind at accepting my name." The heavy sarcasm didn't fall on deaf ears and everyone looked towards the kid that was, for some reason, still laughing.

"Anyway Iris, Cilan and N, this is Hiccup." She motioned towards him. Iris was the first to turn to him.

"Well don't mind Ash he is still a kid after all! Anyway I'm Iris and this is Axew, nice to meet you!" Iris held out her hand, which Hiccup took, and shook it. The statement confused him a little though considering she seemed younger than him? The little dragon that had moved itself into her hair gave him a wave, which he returned with a small smile. "Nice to meet you too Iris, Axew."

Not a moment after Iris Cilan moved towards him and held out his hand first. Hiccup took it and they too shook them. "I'm Cilan, it's a pleasure to meet you." Cilan said while smiling politely, Hiccup returned the smile before letting go of the hand. The last person N still hadn't taken his attention off the spot that he thought Meloetta was probably still drawing. He really needed to watch this N kid, he wasn't going to risk Meloetta safety over some gym battle. He didn't want to be rash though, he was sure Meloetta was enjoying herself and he didn't want to ruin it. Besides it wasn't even sure that N was actually dangerous or even knew it was Meloetta specifically who was sitting there.

His patience though didn't seem to be shared as Iris walked over to the green haired kid. She boldly stood in front of him but because of her height he looked over her. Ticked off by the difference in height she raised her arms and waved her arms in front of his face. That seemed to do the trick as N finally looked somewhere else then that tree. "What is it?" He stated calmly. Iris sighed, probably in exasperation Hiccup mused. "N, we were being introduced to Hiccup by Lenora." She seemed hesitant to talk to him and her temper almost seemed buried in hesitation. Hiccup couldn't figure out why though, weren't they traveling partners? N seemed to be slightly embarrassed by his inattention but otherwise remained just as impassive as before. He turned to face Hiccup before nodding his head in greeting, he returned it. "N, nice to meet you." He stated softly, almost reluctantly. "Nice to meet you N." He didn't repeat his name, he never did. Why do so if usually people only ended up laughing.

"Hey!" A voice yelled. It seemed Ash had finally come back from his laughing fit. Hiccup was relieved when he saw he saw Ash hesitantly move towards them. "Uhm, Hiccup I'm sorry for laughing. I didn't realize how insensitive I was being. Sorry." And he bowed enthusiastically. Hiccup waved his hands in embarrassment as Ash continued to stay bowed. Really, an apology was always what he sought for when people laughed at his name but this was too much. "Don't worry about it Ash, I'm used to it. An apology is more than enough." Nobody noticed Lenora frowning about what Hiccup said about his name.

"Anyway I take it you're going to be the one battling today Ash?" He asked curiously. He always liked watching Pokemon battle. Sure it could be cruel and he absolutely loather those who abused their Pokemon in them. But mostly one could see the extreme drive and passion Pokemon and their trainers had for their goal. The amount of sheer will that went into it made Hiccup admire them both.

"Yeah, it'll be my second gym badge! I can't wait for it!" Both trainer and Pokemon punched the air in excitement. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the sight. Quickly though the trainer had his attention back. "Anyway not to be rude though why are you here? I didn't see you here yesterday?" This time Iris joined in. "Yeah, now that I think about we've been here for two days and have visited the museum many times. Even when it was closed." Even Cilan nodded in agreement as his friends talked. Hiccup listened as they talked to one another about why they hadn't seen him before, finally he interrupted them.

"Well, that's probably because I only arrived this morning and spent most of it until just now exploring all the art work. Nacrene city isn't called the city of art for nothing." Ash just looked confused while Iris and Cilan seemed to understand. "City of art?" Ash asked with the same expression. Iris just scowled and turned to the trainer before pointing in his face. "Really this is why you're such a kid. Nacrene city is famous in Unova as a place where many artists gather. It's why everything is covered in colors and arts."

"Haha, sorry I didn't really notice. I was just so excited for my gym battle." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, again Pikachu joined him in his action. Iris was about to say something else again before, for the first time since the conversation started, N cut in. "But why are you here? Just now you were sitting under a tree in the gym. Are you a trainer?" Hiccup turned to the teenager, two bright green eyes locking onto one another. So he'd noticed Hiccup sitting there before. He could practically hear the interest in the voice, despite N's expression never changing.

Hiccup probably would have been stuttering immensely if he hadn't change so much over the years. Back in his home village he just didn't have confidence in himself. After he left though he'd been in plenty of situations were relying on himself was crucial. His trust in Toothless had skyrocketed while his self-confidence had grown. He was still nervous around people but he could hide it. It was precisely that acquired talent that allowed him to meet N's gaze before shifting it to Lenora.

"Hiccup is someone very precious to me. I've been helping him over the years with various of things. This time he came back to tell me something. I think he was going to leave straight away but when I told him about a gym battle he rushed off to the gym grounds." She smirked at him while Hiccup only flushed in embarrassment at the closest figure he had to a human guardian. He coughed slightly trying to hide his embarrassment before turning back to N. It didn't help to see the amusement in his eyes though.

"A-anyway" he stuttered slightly, "that's why I was in the gym, besides that I'm don't think you could call me a trainer." The red in his face had faded slowly to a manageable tint. "You don't think?" Ash asked from beside N. Hiccup nodded "Yeah, I have plenty of Pokemon partners and friends but I haven't caught any Pokémon." Cilan, Iris and Ash seemed shocked by the revelation while N curiously seemed interested in the subject. He'd been mostly impassive the entire conversation yet this interested him? How odd.

"How can you not have any Pokemon. You travel don't you? I mean Lenora said you were going to leave." The shocked tone of voice didn't leave the entire sentence, Hiccup only looked confused. "I said I never caught any Pokemon, that doesn't mean I don't have any. I have friends that travel with me and we help protect one another." The entire concept though still seemed foreign to the other three as they looked confused. In the end he just sighed and turned to Lenora. "We'll leave it at that. Lenora shouldn't you start the battle?"

It seemed that was all the prompting that was needed to change the subject of the conversation. Ash immediately jumped up in excitement and ran down to the battle field. Even as Lenora tried to explain to him the rules he couldn't seem to stop bouncing up and down. It was within a few minutes that both Lenora and Ash were standing on their respective sides of the field and the battle could begin.

"This battle will consist of two Pokemon each. Only the challenger will be allowed to switch. Whoever defeats the opponents Pokemon first will win the battle. Ready?" The referee called out. When both trainers nodded in agreement the referee raised both flags. "Start!"

As gym leader Lenora was first to choose a Pokemon. "Lillipup, I choose you!" She yelled as a Lillipup came out of its Pokémon. Hiccup quickly recognized the little pup Pokemon as the litter of a Stoutland from the last time he was in Nacrene city. Back then the little guy couldn't even walk without falling back to the ground. Now though Hiccup could see the passion he held for his trainer and this battle, it brought a smile to his face. He could faintly hear Iris squeal about how cute it was in the background.

Next was Ash and he took a Pokemon from his waist, "Tepig I choose you!" As flash of bright red light shone before a small pig like Pokémon revealed itself. He blew a bit of smoke through his nostrils before looking back to Ash. When he saw Ash give him thumps up and a smile he seemed to relax and stood more confidently. That wasn't the only thing that had his attention though, Tepig didn't seem to have the same healthy look Ash's Pikachu had. His fur didn't have a normal shine to it and seemed a little dull. He was also slightly malnourished but wasn't at all skinny, almost as if he was recovering.

"Hey Iris" He called, the girl looked his way. "Yeah?" He lifted his hand and pointed to Tepig. "How long has Ash had Tepig?" Iris looked confused for a minute before sighing slightly. "I think it'll almost be about three weeks now. He caught him about a week before his gym battle with the Striaton gym." Hiccup nodded absently before standing up and walking down the stairs. "Hey wait! Where are you going?" Iris yelled. Hiccup smiled before pointing to the tree he'd previously been sitting under, "I'm gonna sit down, besides I can see the battle better from there." With that he tried to make his way down to the field, keyword is tried. Before he could even descent one more step a hand landed on his shoulder. It didn't grip or hurt but it did pull his attention to the person in question, N. "Is there something?" He asked politely. Always the polite one he thought sarcastically, even despite his irritations with the stoic teenager. N nodded "Yes, I was going to ask whether I could join you down on the grass."

Hiccup felt a slight dread at the implications, especially with Meloetta probably still there, but kept his composure. "Why would you need my permission for something like that?" His tone was light be he felt anything but light. It was only when he saw N surprised that he felt a little lighter. At least the guy wasn't entirely emotionless. Without saying another word he made his way down the steps. He quickly heard the steps behind him, following the same route. As soon as they were on the side of the battle field he turned and walked towards the tree with a sigh. Why did he have to say yes? Couldn't he just have made up some excuse about... Whatever! Something! No wonder Toothless always reacted the way he did, maybe he really did attract trouble. Even if he did he'd never admit that to Toothless though. He'd rather keep denying it than have Toothless have the satisfaction of him being right. The dragon would get so incredibly smug when he did. The annoying reptile would literally not stop rubbing it in his face until satisfied, it was a pain.

He glanced behind him at the mysterious trainer. The green haired teenager was keeping his eyes once again on the tree they were heading to. Well, were heading to cause they were pretty much in front of it now. Hiccup paid no attention to the other beside the cursory glance every so often as he moved to sit down under the tree. He made himself comfortable before reaching into his pouch. Smoothly he pulled out a loose piece of paper he'd kept there and a pencil. Lastly he pulled out a small collapsible sturdy piece of plastic. He folded it open to reveal a hard piece of plastic the size of an A4 piece of paper. To Hiccup it was very useful as he could use it to draw on yet it barely used up any space. He turned his attention to the front to observe the battle.

He was about to start drawing when he felt a slight weight on his side and a small breathing sound. He smiled gently when he realized Mel had probably fallen asleep. Assured she was by his side he turned his attention back to the front and watched Lillipup take down Tepig. He supposed he hadn't really been watching the battle despite his fascination with them but right now he wanted to draw Lillipup in action. It didn't take long before he once more disappeared into his own world as he drew with concentration. Only ever looking up every few minutes.

He didn't notice as N curiously watched his gentle smile to the side and his immense concentration on the drawing. The teenager watched amazed as a lively drawing of Lillipup slowly progressed onto the piece of paper.

When Hiccup's sketch was finally finished he carefully reached into his pouch to make sure he didn't wake Meloetta. Slowly he pulled out his coloring pencils before he continued to draw. In the meantime though Lillipup was no longer on the field. Lillipup had won against Tepig with well place take down but lost against Oshawott only barely. Now a very weakened Oshawott was trying to attack Watchog, he wasn't very successful though. After a heavy blow by Watchog's thunderbolt Oshawott couldn't keep standing and fainted.

"And the winner is Lenora!" At the exact same time, Hiccup came out of his trance and put down his pencil. He looked at his drawing with satisfaction before putting the pencils back in his pouch. Carefully he put the drawing on the grass as he folded up his plastic board. When he was finally finished he came onto and odd but strangely amusing sight. Next to him he saw N reaching for it his drawing. But the strange thing was that he was paused halfway through his action. Now he was repeatedly reached for it before pulling back. Hiccup grinned at the odd situation, "You know you could just ask to see it." He said. While he didn't trust him it couldn't harm to show him a drawing.

It was only then that N fully reached for the drawing and picked it up. Carefully he examined the drawing with a seriousness Hiccup never thought would be possible with one of his drawings. "It's amazing." He heard from beside him. "What?" He asked confusedly. Suddenly N turned back to him abruptly.

"This is an amazing drawing, how did you capture the Pokémon's essence so clearly?!" The childlike excitement that suddenly seemed to take over in the usually stoic teenager startled Hiccup. It took him a moment to realize what was being said and by who. Meanwhile though N continued. "You perfectly illustrated his healthy gown almost making him shine, yet the fire in his eyes doesn't lose to it. How did you do it?" At the end of his rant he turned to face Hiccup.

Hiccup though was in no state to answer. Over the years he'd become slightly used to confrontations and was now able to keep his calm. This though was something entirely different. As the green haired guy next to him kept ranting his face only continued to become redder. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore. When the rant had finally ended he grabbed his drawing, stood up carefully as not to wake Meloetta and walked onto the field. Quickly he took a few calming breaths away from the source of his embarrassment before walking up to Lenora.

Lenora was standing next to Ash conversing about how he lost and what he could do about it. He seemed really passionate about having a rematch soon. Iris and Cilan slowly moving down the stairs towards them. "Lenora!" He yelled as he walked towards them. The dark skinned woman turned to face him with a smile. "Hey Hiccup what did you think of the battle?" Hiccup smiled sheepishly before handing her his drawing. She nodded and took it but did open it just quite yet. "Let me guess, you got pulled into your artistically instinct and it didn't let you go until after the battle?" She posed dramatically with a smirk on her face as she exaggerated. This time though Hiccup was prepare for the embarrassment and just smiled back sweetly. "Well if you don't want my drawing then I guess I'll just..." He reached for it in a slow way when she, as expected, pulled the drawing out of his reach. "No, no, I'll keep it. You're drawings are always phenomenal." It was only then that she opened and saw the drawn Lillipup.

"Ooh Hiccup, this is amazing!" She gushed at him. Ash looked over her shoulder as he listened to their discussion. "Yeah you're right. It does look amazing." He too said as he saw the drawing. Hiccup just grinned happily, "Thanks. By the way Lenora. Is that the Lillipup that hatched when I was here last time?" She smiled and nodded slightly. "Yeah, it's the same one. He'd been adamant about wanting to battle and become stronger." Hiccup looked down at the drawing, seeing the spark of fire in Lillipup's eyes he nodded in agreement. "Yeah he's a lot stronger than when I last saw him, also very determined."

She folded the drawing and put it in her pocket just before Cilan and Iris got to them. The four of them started a conversation about what it was exactly that Ash should be doing better. Hiccup though went back and sat down against the tree. This time he was more composed and wouldn't have that ridiculous flush of his on his face if he confronted N.

As expected N was still sitting at the same place but was once again staring exactly to where Meloetta was sleeping. Without a warning he sat down precisely in front of N's view and made himself comfortable against the tree. For a moment he felt the teenagers gaze before N looked to where Lenora and the rest were discussing.

"Why do people battle with Pokemon.." The green haired youth suddenly asked. Hiccup just stared before he too turned his attention to the other four of the field. He thought about it for a bit before answering carefully. "I suppose each person and Pokemon has their reason. Reaching higher heights, getting stronger, to fulfill a dream, anything really." Hiccup turned back to see N staring at him with a confused yet unbelieving expression.

"But Pokemon get hurt battling. Why would someone who claims to care about them force them to battle?" His tone was firm in his belief but Hiccup could see a little doubt had been planted. It probably wouldn't change much but maybe it would get him to think on it from a different view.

"That depends entirely on who and why? Sure just like there are bad Pokemon there are bad humans. There will always be those who abuse and misuse their Pokemon. Leaving Pokémon like Tepig entirely abandoned." He trailed off slightly in thought as he felt movement next to his thigh. He supposed Meloetta woke before continuing. "But that is not universal. Just like there are bad trainer there are good ones. Trainers who long to fulfill their dreams and Pokemon that help. Plenty of times do Pokemon create their own dreams when traveling. They can fall in love with contest or get mesmerized by the prospect of battling. They all learn when they travel and often they develop the same dream as their trainer. Their bond causes them to work hard together, to do anything to reach their dream. It's that fire, that passion and will that makes a battle, a contest or any other activity worthwhile to do or watch, after all what is life without a purpose?" He left his question hanging in the air before carefully nudging Meloetta. When he felt a loss of weight he knew she'd understood and he moved to stand up.

Next to him he watched N repeat the movement and stand next to him. His eyes had returned to their former disinterest yet this time they were determined on something. He didn't want to stay to find out though as the youth's eyes flickered to the tree multiple times. Though this time Meloetta had probably moved it didn't calm his nerves. Without another look he moved onto the field towards Lenora.

"Lenora!" He called, she calmed the conversation she had with the other kids before turning to him. "I'll be going now. I've got something important to do so I probably won't be back for a few weeks maybe a month." She smiled before nodding. "Make sure you be careful, and tell Toothless that if you get hurt in any way I'll chase him to the ends of the earth." Hiccup chuckled knowing that Toothless was terrified of the woman. The first time they'd met her they'd been in a very fragile state, both physically and mentally. She's the one that helped them but Toothless wouldn't let her close to Hiccup until she gave him a thorough lecture on when he should act protective and when he should lessen the leash. It was embarrassing that she'd actually said Toothless had him on a leash but even now he was grateful for everything.

She moved forward giving him a long hug before moving her mouth close to his ears. "If I get any information on team Plasma I'll let you know." She whispered before letting him go. "Make sure you take care of yourself Hiccup or I'll get someone else to!" He chuckled awkwardly before waving at her and running up the stairs through the door.

Without a care in the world he ran through the hallways back out the museum by following the privet corridor only. Halfway his trip he felt the now familiar weight of Meloetta on his shoulder. As soon as he had physical reassurance she was alright he ran even faster quickly making his way to the market. For now he would keep his mind of that confusing green haired kid and concentrate on buying what he'd need for his next location; Undella town.


End file.
